Children's fears are changing with the times

Published 8:00 pm, Tuesday, April 28, 2009

STAMFORD -- It's not what's hiding under the bed that scares most kids these days -- it's what's in the news.

A recent study published in the Journal of Counseling and Development found that contemporary fears in children have changed with the times to include such things as rape, kidnapping, terrorist attacks and murder.

More than 1,000 children and adolescents in grades 2 through 12 were surveyed by a 98-item questionnaire that tallied what kids fear most based on how scary each of the 98 items seemed.

Among the 20 most common contemporary fears were "being raped," "having to fight in a war," "getting pregnant or getting my girlfriend pregnant," and "terrorist attacks."

The study's author, Joy Burnham, associate professor at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, collected data in 23 schools in two southeastern states from November 2001 to April 2004.

Fear among youth has been fairly well-documented, she said, and those fears seem to align with the issues of the day.

"This study also appeared to validate the reasoning that actual world fears often translate into fears among children and adolescents," wrote Burnham.

The study went on to find that while six of the top 10 most common fears for girls and boys were the same, the level of fear reported by the girls was significantly higher than that of their male counterparts.

"The tendency among girls is often described as a response to gender role expectations or a result of the socialization process," said Burnham.

The study also validated previous findings that fears tend to decrease as age increases.

That's likely because young children don't yet possess the cognitive capabilities to understand what they're seeing on television, and thus are more likely to be frightened by it, said Nicole Nardizzi, a child therapist at Family Centers' Stamford office.

An 8-year-old passing by the TV set might witness a tsunami wipe out an entire country and think the disaster is happening down the street, she said.

"The bottom line is, children just don't feel as safe as they once did, and that's partly due to the amount of exposure children are getting," said Nardizzi.

Preston Britner, associate professor and associate department head for graduate studies at the University of Connecticut, said what's causing these fears is only partly due to the increased exposure children are getting in television and media.

"The events themselves are changing," said Britner. We're living in a more dangerous and stressful environment, he said, which has a direct reflect on what media covers.

Burnham's study points to three main causes of contemporary fears in children and adolescents: Global events, television and media exposure, and societal changes.

Natural and man-made global disasters have historically triggered an influx of studies that analyze fears in children, said Burnham. During the past 30 years, mass media has appeared more frequently as a factor in children's fears, while societal changes have also emerged as an impact on those fears, she said.

"Children have more stressors in their lives today than ever before," said Dr. Evelyn Bilias, chair of the psychology department for Stamford Public Schools.

One fear factor not heavily analyzed in Burnham's study was the impact of the recession on children and adolescents. "My parents losing their jobs" ranked 41st on the fear list in her study.

"We're definitely seeing that the economy is having an impact on what our kids are worrying about," said Bilias. "Students who are applying to college are raising concerns about the legitimacy of career paths and their ability to obtain gainful employment."

There's also a ripple effect in the homes, says Nardizzi.

"If parents are stressed at home, that anxiety will trickle down to the kids," she said.

What's a parent to do?

Experts say parents can start by limiting their children's exposure to frightening messages.

The Internet allows kids access to an unlimited amount of information, and computer use is something that must be screened by parents and caregivers, said Nardizzi.

Britner said it's impossible -- and potentially detrimental -- to block kids off entirely from global and local media coverage.

"We can't unplug our kids from the media," he said. "Parents have to help process the exposure they're receiving in developmentally appropriate ways."

That includes explaining to young children that the tsunami they saw on TV, while tragic, happened far away and doesn't threaten them directly, said Britner.

"If they are exposed to a frightening message, teach them to understand what they're seeing and reassure them about the level of risk involved," he said.

Experts overwhelmingly agree that lying to kids, even to protect them, generally causes more harm than good.

Burnham stresses the need for school guidance counselors to be more involved with children's worries and prepared to deal with 21st century problems.

While school counselors are positioned to offer assistance to distressed children at school, stronger preparation is needed to help children during a global crisis and with everyday adversities, says Burnham.

Bilias agrees that a unified effort is needed between the school and the home, but said many public schools now offer services to help students cope which go beyond guidance counselors, including school social workers, psychologists, health departments and outside mental health consultants.

"There are a lot of individual services that children have access to," she said. "The important thing is that the child finds someone who they feel comfortable with."